By MICHAEL PIPER, Staff Writer Two teams, one division, similar records and both playing summer basketball hoping the lessons learned can translate to the winter varsity season. On the surface the Archbishop Spalding and North County boys entries in the Anne Arundel County Summer Parks and Recreation Basketball League would appear to have much in common. That couldn't be further from the truth. While North County has many of its varsity players on its Lake Waterford squad, Spalding intentionally kept its key varsity performers from participating. "We have three seniors who are Division I prospects that play with our team in the St. Alban's League in D.C.," said Sean Whalen, Spalding's new JV and Lake Waterford coach. "We use the Lake Waterford League to get some of our younger talent a chance to participate and get better." Players such as Derek Young, Danny Quinn, Johann James, Miguel James and Danny Palumbo have formed the nucleus of the Cavaliers' Lake Waterford contingent, which boasted a 4-2 record through Thursday's games. Young, a Suitland native, is a rising junior and has handled the point guard spot, impressing Whalen throughout the summer while Quinn, a 6-foot-6 post player has been a pressence in the front court as a rising junior. Swingmen Johann James, a varsity performer last year, and Miguel James and Palumbo have all taken steps forward and Whalen hopes it will help their confidence and their games this winter. "These guys are younger than most of the guys they play against," Whalen said of his team. "They are going against stronger, more mature players and playing well. They also get a chance to practice situations in games they are going to see this year and you just can't really simulate that in practice." Spalding's Justin Castleberry, Marquis Sullivan and Lawrence Dixon join the team when it competes in the St. Alban's League, a league that compares in level of play to the High Point Summer League, where Annapolis High plays. That league is necessary for Spalding, which plays in the ultra-competitive MIAA A Conference. North County, on the other hand, has the luxury of having nearly its full varsity roster on hand when it plays in the summer league. For the Knights, building the continuity and gaining a familiarity with one another, is as important as any basketball skills gleaned from the off-season competition. "You really have to try and develop that team unity in the summer," North County summer league head coach Frank Brown said. "There's really only like a three-month layover until winter, so what they learn in the summer should carry over."